Get Connected!

MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals
news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on
every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service,
MASN has got all the bases covered.

Showalter time

The Orioles made manager Buck Showalter available on a conference call earlier this morning.

Now he can change his phone number.

Showalter conceded that the process of building his staff took much longer than anticipated. It's the elephant in the room. You can't ignore it.

At least you don't have to clean up after this one.

"I think 'process' is a good word," he said. "It's kind of like when I came in in August. I didn't come in with any preconceived notions. I hadn't really been down this road process-wise. I think it was very obvious the coaching staff that we had were good people, too, because they landed on their feet quickly and we knew they would.

"You can't cheat the process. Kind of like the players. We plugged in certain people that we wanted to add. Most of them I've had a prior relationship with. It was probably a little longer that I had hoped or thought, but as we got into the process, I knew that with all the managerial changes and all the changes that went on in baseball, there was going to have to be some patience on our part."

It's mostly an experienced staff which includes two former managers.

"I think it was more about a fit for where we are as a club," Showalter said. "I think one of greatest attributes that we can have as a staff is knowing who we are and what our needs are and being able to serve them."

Without going into specifics, Showalter said that Wayne Kirby "serves a need in the clubhouse that we didn't have."

Showalter also was asked about new hitting coach Jim Presley replacing Terry Crowley, who will remain in the organization.

"We're excited about the moves that were made," Showalter said. "We feel like adding Terry to the job description that he's going to have is exciting for all of us because of his evaluation skills of hitters and the things that he's going to be able to do with our young hitters and coaches. We thank Peter (Angelos) and Andy (MacPhail) for doing that. It worked out real well for us and it makes us better.

"I think Jim and Terry have already talked. Terry is an outstanding evaluator of hitting talent. I've know Jim for a long time. Every guy is different, every coach is different. You look at what you think your needs are. It's something that Jim and I have talked about, what we can get better at. But the bottom line is players are going to have to embrace it and have pride and the want-to to try to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be offensively. And there were some good things that happened last year. Terry's been a big part of a lot of some very good things that have happened offensively. "